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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wax · wind · clip · mouse · race · suit · swing · perch

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. suit — clothes
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. wax — to grow
  6. suit — in cards
  7. swing — to play on
  8. wind — moving air
  9. clip — for paper
  10. perch — the fish
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. swing — in golf
  13. wind — moving air
  14. suit — to fit
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. race — the arms race
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — to cut
  21. race — humankind
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. swing — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com